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Close Quarters (Introduced by Helen Castor)

William Golding

Lose yourself in an epic naval journey in the second novel in the Booker Prize-winning Sea Trilogy by the author of Lord of the Flies.

1 in stock

£9.99£8.99
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780571371662
Date Published
07.04.2022
Delivery
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Summary

Introduced by Helen Castor, lose yourself in an epic naval journey in the second novel in the Booker Prize-winning historical fiction Sea Trilogy by the author of Lord of the Flies.

This tropical nowhere was the whole world — the whole imaginable world.

A decrepit warship is becalmed halfway to Australia, stilled in an ocean wilderness of heat and sea mists. In this surreal, fête-like atmosphere, a ball is held with a passing ship: the passengers dance and flirt, while beneath them seaweed like green hair spreads omniously over the hull. Half-mad with fear, drink, love and opium, both vessel and passengers feel themselves going to pieces: and the very planks seem to twist themselves alive as the ship comes apart at the seams . . .

‘Fantastic … Gems tumble off the pages … A strong sense of drama … Much of the pleasure of reading his work is his original imagery.’ Annie Proulx

‘No living writer has represented the fragility of man’s experience so marvellously as Golding.’ AS Byatt

‘It is in Golding’s magnificent, therapeutic, terrifying descriptions of seascapes that the deepest meanings can be found.’ Kate Mosse

‘Stunning . . . As exciting as any thriller.’Sunday Times

‘A feat of imaginative reconstruction, as vivid as a dream.’Daily Mail

‘Tells an utterly absorbing tale, in language of immense force and subtlety.’Financial Times

To The Ends of the Earth: A Sea Trilogy – Book Two

Browse William Golding novels reissued with new designs.

Critic Reviews

Fantastic ... Literary gems tumble off the pages. Golding had a strong sense of drama ... Much of the pleasure of reading his work is his original imagery.

Annie Proulx
Critic Reviews

The emotional veracity of life at sea powers Golding’s exceptional writing ... The fury, mystery and challenge of life on board ... It is in Golding's magnificent, therapeutic, terrifying descriptions of seascapes that the deepest meanings can be found.

Kate Mosse
Critic Reviews

No living writer has represented the fragility of man's experience so marvellously as Golding.

A.S.Byatt
Critic Reviews

Laden to the waterline with a rich cargo of practicalities and poetry, pain and hilarity, drama and exaltation.

Sunday Times
Critic Reviews

Golding writes the past as present [with] uncanny skill and tremendous intuition.

Ben Okri
Critic Reviews

Stunning . . . As exciting as any thriller.

Sunday Times
WilliamGolding

William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential writers of modern times. Lord of the Flies, his first novel, has been read by millions, translated into more than forty-five languages, and adapted for screen and stage drama. He drew on his own experience as a teacher and his service in the…

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William Golding
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